How do I get my whites WHITE????

[VanessainWonderland]

My whites always come out dingy and yellowish from the wash. I use Clorox and started adding BORAX. Nothing has helped.

Any tips?

 

[3boymthr]

The problem may not be your detergent but your washer/water.

Try cleaning your washer - no clothes just a load of hot water and a gallon of bleach. I got distracted from my wash one day and when I finally got back to it the water was swishing around and it was brown with clumps of lint and dirt in it and there was nothing else in the washer - no soap no clothes. Cleaning the washer really helped.

Also try adding a whole house filter - It's a like a brita filter only you put on the water line before it goes into the water heater - ours is about a foot tall and 4 or 5 inches across at the top. I think it cost about $50 at Home Depot and the filters are cheap. We have one and when DH changes the filter every couple of months it is black.

 

[Va-bear]

I thought this article was GREAT.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/the-wash-cycle

ps - Martha says not to use clorine bleach..... it actually causes yellowing...who knew?!

Good luck!

 

[simonsmom]

add dishwasher detergent into your wash- it still has an ingredient that they removed form fabric detergents. Or just soak in water and dw detergent first

 

[mamaLori05]

I agree. It sounds like you have bad water. Maybe rust in the water?

I also agree that using too much bleach can cause it to yellow. I only use bleach on my hubby's workout clothes (because they STINK!! PU). However if there is a white shirt that has a stain on it I will use bleach on that. I find that if I use too much though, it comes out yellowish.

 

[tinlizzy]

Start line drying the whites in the sun.

The UV kills all bacteria, acts as a natural bleaching agent and your clothes will smell fantastic!

 

[Mathfailure]

Forgive me if you think this is too simple, but do you sort well?

I find if I try to slip in some lights with my whites it shows. I don't always like having to do a small white only load, but my clothes are better for it.

And I do not want to sound like a commercial, but I have always done best with tide with bleach, liquid. One of my VERY few brand loyalties.

Also, what is the material of the clothes? Some man made fabrics just get dingy with age. The dishwasher soak works best with these, cottons should perk up with the tide.

 

[AntePrincess]

I second cutting out the chlorine bleach and line drying. Instead, buy a cheap bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and add a dose of it to a load of whites, running it hot. OxiClean, for the record, is essentially a powder that converts to a bit of detergent and hydrogen peroxide in the wash, with some specks of bluing agents added, for which service you are charged a lot. I'd also recommend adding bluing to your wash once in awhile in your own right.

If it's still not coming white than go to your local source of RIT dye and you'll find in the same rack a substance that removes dyes. I'd give that a try. I forget the proper term for it.

 

[lovepurple]

I use a generic version of oxi-clean that I found at the Dollar General store.

 

[finz2left]

My grandmother swore by adding BLUING to the water. I still see it at grocery stores and Wal-Mart. I don't know if it's in my head by I add BLUE DOWNY to my whites, and never bleach. I love my whites

 

[VanessainWonderland]

Thanks for all the replies....

By the way, we have VERY hard water! And yes, it is RUSTY!

My washer is clean. We have that amazing Samsung front loader.

So between the hard water and the chlorine, I guess I am actually destroying my clothes!

My hubby has put a house filter on the side of the house, s the water is bette.r have not tried the blueing stuff, DW detergent, or the Hydrogen peroxide.

Can I put DW detergent in my washer?

 

[ShanPooh]

We've improved our whites by adding 1/2 baking soda per load when we put in our detergent. Then we pour about 1 cup of white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser (instead of fabric softener).

 

[apnep]

My whites always come out dingy and yellowish from the wash. I use Clorox and started adding BORAX. Nothing has helped.

Any tips?

Add vinegar to your rinse cycle and they will get white. Your clothes will also be soft!

Ang

 

[apnep]

Thanks for all the replies....

We have that amazing Samsung front loader.

I have a Samsung front loader...I LOVE it. Remember you don't need to put a ton of detergent and bleach in there because it's using less water. Do add the vinegar as a softener. Something about the vinegar helps to release extra dirt and soften the clothes. Also, your clothes won't smell so cloroxy...

Angela

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

http://www.mrsstewart.com/pages/instructions.htm

 

[tinkmom2]

A good tip is: Don't let your DH do the wash! LOL I just use good old fashioned Clorox bleach.

 

[ILMICKEY]

I use Iron Out in my whites. I LOVE it. I have the same white tank tops I had 2 years ago and they are still white. I have rusty well water too! I have even used it on jeans.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Yeah, I read a while back to not use bleach because the manufacturers of whatever it is...towels, clothing....put brightener solutions on the cloth...and the chlorine will turn that brightener yellow.

 

[ChickieToo]

Thanks for all the replies....

By the way, we have VERY hard water! And yes, it is RUSTY!

My washer is clean. We have that amazing Samsung front loader.

So between the hard water and the chlorine, I guess I am actually destroying my clothes!

My hubby has put a house filter on the side of the house, s the water is bette.r have not tried the blueing stuff, DW detergent, or the Hydrogen peroxide.

Can I put DW detergent in my washer?

Just FYI, I have a GE front loader. My neighbor works for GE repair and he told me that front loaders can only tolerate washer detergent that is HE (high efficiency). It says HE right on the label, and most of the big brands have an "HE" variation. He told me that anything else will cause the washer tub to eventually become "bubble bound" because the other detergents create too much soap for a washer that uses so little water. I think it can be a pricey repair because the tub will get sticky and stop rotating, or something like that (to be honest when he was telling me I tuned out because I was mad that I had $40 of barely used regular washing machine liquid that I couldn't use).

 

[CathrynRose]

My grandmother swore by adding BLUING to the water. I still see it at grocery stores and Wal-Mart. I don't know if it's in my head by I add BLUE DOWNY to my whites, and never bleach. I love my whites

Yep - Mrs Stewarts Bluing.